Builder ignored timber frame fire risk

A Bristol-based construction company has been handed a £145,000 fine after failing to control fire risk at a Somerset site.

North Somerset Magistrates’ Court was told on 24 August that the HSE had taken enforcement action against Ikon Construction over its failure to plan and manage work correctly at several sites before a member of the public alerted the HSE to the company’s activities on a site in Clevedon.

The court was told that the HSE had issued several notices of contravention and prohibition notices covering temporary works, work at height, plant safety and fire assessment and control relating to timber frame developments but the company had failed to act.

In May 2016, a member of the public complained to the HSE about the construction of nine timber frame town houses at 22 Marine Parade in Clevedon, north Somerset. A follow-up investigation on 9 May found the firm had failed to plan, manage and monitor the work.

Ikon Construction, of Clifton Road, Clifton, says on its website its mission is to “build projects safely, responsibly, honestly, sustainably and on-time”.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 33(1) (c) of the Health & Safety at Work Act and regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £145,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,191.